Oswald's Trigger Films
The idea that LHO was at least partly motivated to kill JFK by movies he saw prior to the assassination is not new and has been mentioned, albeit occasionally, in conspiracy literature. But three films in particular, We Were Strangers , The Manchurian Candidate and Suddenly , the latter two starring Frank Sinatra, may have provided a “psychological trigger” for his actions against both JFK and General Walker. Author John Loken, whose book Oswald’s Trigger Films explores this interesting possibility, discovered that The Manchurian Candidate was playing in Dallas in November and December, 1962 when LHO was living there and had access to the relevant theatres. Loken also points out that Time magazine published a favorable review of the film in its November 2, 1962 issue and that LHO subscribed to that publication (Loken, 6-17). Finally, Loken says that given LHO’s psychology, he would have been attracted to the film with its themes of politics, intrigue and violence (Loken, 5). T...